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Ohio State officially confirms QB Braxton Miller will miss the '14 season, he wants to return next year

Braxton Miller closeup Big Ten Media Days 2014

Braxton Miller felt good at Big Ten Media Days in July, but Ohio State confirmed on Tuesday that the senior quarterback will miss the entire season after reinjuring his right shoulder.
(Paul Beaty, Associated Press)

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio State officially announced Tuesday evening that senior quarterback Braxton Milller will miss the 2014 season after he reinjured his right shoulder in practice Tuesday evening.

In a release sent out by Ohio State, Miller said he wants to return to lead the Buckeyes in 2015 after undergoing yet another shoulder surgery.

"I love Ohio State and Buckeye nation, and my goal is to come back from this injury stronger and better than ever," Miller said. "I am on course to graduate in December and I want to attend graduate school, and then return to lead the Buckeyes next season. In the meantime, I want to give all the support I can to my coaches and teammates as they chase a championship this season."

"My thoughts and prayers are with Braxton and his family," Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer said. "This is an unfortunate injury to a young man who means so much to this program and to Buckeye nation."

At 26-8 in 34 career starts in three years, Miller had a chance to break Art Schlichter's Ohio State record for career wins at 36.

He has amassed 8,346 yards of total offense while accounting for 84 touchdowns. He won the last two Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year Awards and the last two Silver Footballs from the Chicago Tribune as the conference's best player. Every major OSU quarterback record on the books was there for the taking with a strong, healthy final year for Miller.

That didn't happen. It could happen in 2015 for Miller if comes back. But for now, he's dealing with another injury.

Last season, Miller sprained the MCL in his left knee on the first drive against San Diego State and missed the rest of that game and the next two while Kenny Guiton filled in. Then came the shoulder injury against Clemson in the Orange Bowl, when Miller was hurt early, played the entire game but said afterward the pain in his shoulder was a 9.5 out of 10. He had what Ohio State called minor outpatient surgery in February, but six months later, the shoulder still isn't right.

As a sophomore in 2012, Miller left the game briefly after hitting his head on an equipment case on the sideline at the end of a play against Michigan State. A month later, Miller left Ohio Stadium in an ambulance after taking a hard shot against Purdue. Guiton relieved Miller and led a game-tying drive before taking Ohio State to victory in overtime. Miller was able to practice and play the next week.

As a freshman in 2011, Miller left the Nebraska game after getting hurt, and the Buckeyes collapsed and lost without him.

It was six years ago, in 2008, that Miller made an unofficial visit to Ohio Stadium during a game as the Buckeyes started to target him as the potential replacement at quarterback for Terelle Pryor. Miller was just a sophomore in high school then, but Jim Tressel was already interested.

Miller was also on crutches for that visit because of a broken bone in his leg. He's a talented player with a tough injury history.

Regardless of what the rest of Miller's football career holds, he should be remembered as a player who helped lead the Buckeyes out of the dark times of the NCAA sanctions by carrying the offense in 2012, when he averaged 19 carries per game.

He was a quarterback and also the team's best run threat, and when Urban Meyer's offense was growing in the coach's first year on the job, it was the quarterback who carried the team to an undefeated 12-0 record cut short by a postseason ban.

Now the Buckeyes, with the season opener against Navy in Baltimore on Aug. 30, will go on without him.

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